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Session 3: Swing Jazz

Films: Ken Burns’ Jazz: Episode 6: Swing, the Velocity of Celebration and International Sweethearts of Rhythm

As the Depression deepened, Swing Jazz survived. In 1936, Count Basie arrived in New York City, bringing his signature up- tempo, blues-influenced sound he developed playing clubs in Kansas City. That same year Benny Goodman made history when his swing band played Carnegie Hall in New York City. Clips of this landmark performance show Gene Krupa’s pyrotechnic display of drumming, which sets the highbrow audience to dancing in the aisles.

International Sweethearts is an award-winning documentary tells the little known story of a multiracial, all-women swing band that became a sensation in the 1940s. With the outbreak of WWII, the group expanded, riding the swing craze to sold-out performances in theaters across the country.